Monthly Archives: February 2013

I’m an enthusiastic reader of crime fiction, but not just crime. Science-fiction, fantasy and a lot of period drama. I have also, on occasions, dipped into the works of historic non-fiction. However, my passion has always been a good murder mystery! I have copies of all the Sherlock Holmes cases, and nearly all the Agatha Christie’s Poirot (short stories and complete novels). I have tinkered with various ideas for a crime story of my own, and when I sat down and set about the task of having someone murdered (in print!) the story of Sir Laurence Gregson was born.

Now, before I could murder him, I had to understand him. This then led me to develop the character of Doctor Straay. I choose a Dutchman purely and simply because I had been to Holland many times, I have friends there, and I love the Dutch, so it was natural that I…

Before kids, I was a singer songwriter signed to Universal Music. But now I’m a mother of two noisy boys and so writing novels fits in perfectly with my life. A typical day is taking the kids to school, doing an hour or so of online promo (while trying not to get sucked in to the chat) and then sitting down with a coffee to write.

I specialise mainly in teen fiction. I write the kinds of books I love to read – gripping young adult adventures with a sprinkling of romance and a big dose of danger. I’m currently in the middle of writing my post-apocalyptic trilogy, the OUTSIDE SERIES, a romance thriller set in the near future.

For many years I’ve been fascinated with caves. My husband and I, along with our children, have toured many caves in the U.S., and even had the chance, recently, to explore on our own inside a raw cave in our city. We tiptoed on rocks through a watery cave floor, guided only by our tiny flashlights, and the flashlights of another family ahead of us. No one was brave enough to go very far inside, especially after I clunked my head on a low spot in the cave’s ceiling.

Another interesting cave adventure happened in March of this year. My husband and I were on a tour of a commercialized cave with my cousin and her husband, and we saw bats flying around. The unexpected sighting was thrilling, though we would probably have been less thrilled if that had happened on the unguided tour in the raw cave.

I know there are a lot of writers out there eager to get their work featured on a stable platform. We want to help. While HNR isn’t remotely near as large as it will be, we’ve grown exponentially in the last six months. Our reader base is strong, our views are consistently increasing and advertisers are taking notice. Getting your story featured in the marquee of HorrorNovelReviews certainly won’t hurt your cause. A clean bill in the pocket won’t hurt either.

Here’s the gist: We want to read your best monster story, but it’s got to be short. No novella submissions, no graphic novel submissions, just a short story, all about monsters… of some sort. I will personally read each and every submission, narrow the field to five front-runners, and recruit the voices of two additional published authors to get their opinions and votes.

Welcome to my second installment of Nerdy Notes. I was lucky enough to grab Deb Howell author of the new Steampunk Fantasy “Healer’s Touch” to talk with me. I’ve just started reading this and it is a dandy. So without further ado, take it away, Deb.

Tell us a bit about your book. What kind of audience will this book appeal to?

Healer’s Touch is a fantasy tale centred around a girl who can heal herself. Unfortunately, her power comes with the consequence that in order to heal, life-energy must be transferred from something (or someone) else…

It’s a tale about her trying to deal with these consequences, while those who would use her power for their own benefit track her down.

This is the bit where I admit to being a terrible author. I’ve read all the advice that says “Know your audience”… I just never followed it. When…